Thousands of Reasons to Be There
Explore the mysterious and unique Barycz Valley, with the extraordinary Milicz Ponds
By Milicz Ponds
Marek Wiśniewski
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The Land of Extraordinary
Nearly 8.000 hectares of ponds, where the tastiest Milicz carps have been bred for 800 years, where two thirds of the entire Polish waterfowl population lives. Everything at your fingertips. Within an hour's drive from the Market Square in Wrocław and Poznań.
From the Bird's EyeMilicz Ponds
Polish Cinderella
A few years ago a traveler from Lubin described Stawy Milickie as the Polish Cinderella. And he was quite right. Like the heroine of Charles Perrault's fairy tale, the ponds are not intrusive with their beauty and attractions. Yet they have enormous potential.
The mainstay of an untamed game
The present day of the pond, not only of the time of flight, are large flocks of birds: greylaggers, crackers, temples, red-necked grebes, marsh harriers, bitterns, green forage, fowls. In addition, there are also swans, cormorants, white and gray herons, coots, black-headed gulls, cranes and white-tailed eagles.
Cranes by the Milicz Ponds by Agnieszka FlorczykMilicz Ponds
The list of the local birds can be as high as 270 species. A significant part of them (about 160) nest here, and the rest is just passing. According to ornithologists, the local world of water birds accounts for over 2/3 of our national population.
White CraneMilicz Ponds
During the migration period, the ponds in Milicz accumulated over 60,000 birds. Therefore, this area is an ideal place for bird watching, both for hobbyists and beginner tourists.
Milicz carp
It was entered on the list of traditional regional products, it was also included in the European Network of Regional Culinary Heritage.
Wildlife and the carp are a whole
It will be appreciated by the one who slowly and without haste will be ten dense again "water", dense again wild ducks and cormorants, listening to the rhythm of nature through the Barycz Valley. This is the phenomenon of this Valley. It is worth getting to know the Polish Cinderella beforehand
Due to the changes and destruction brought about by social and economic evolution, it is beyond dispute that the cultural and natural heritage is increasingly under threat.
Special care should be taken for places such as Milicz Ponds to protect them against the loss of their unique universal value and to enable them to be kept as unchanged as possible for future generations.
Created for centuries - and existing inextricably with the surrounding nature - today they are an extremely rare example of the coexistence of a planned human economy and an undisturbed kingdom of birds.
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Milicz Ponds
It's the is the largest complex of ponds in Europe as well as the country's largest bird protection reserve (5324.31 ha). This area, as the only one in Poland, belongs to Living Lakes, i.e. an international network of lakes and other water reservoirs characterised by exceptional natural values.
From the Bird's EyeMilicz Ponds
The Living Lakes
...are located right next to the Milicz ponds, are among others, Baikal, Dead Sea, Balaton, Titicaca, Lake Victoria. The Barycz Valley Landscape Park is the largest area of this type in Poland (87,040 ha).
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The valley
...is included in the international protection systems, such as the RAMSAR convention, which protects unique wetlands, and the European Natura 2000 network, which aims to preserve the natural heritage of the Community. The Milicz Ponds with their authenticity are part of the centuries-old history of inland fishing.
From The Bird's EyeMilicz Ponds
The process of creating ponds and all the infrastructure around them has not changed for eight centuries. Carp breeding and catches are similar. This is what the tradition of fishing, culinary culture, customs, as well as the uniqueness of the inhabitants of the valley are based on.
This is what the tradition of fishing, culinary culture, customs, as well as the uniqueness of the inhabitants of the valley are based on.
And this is the phenomenon of the Milicz Ponds
Valleys that surround the backwaters of the river on the border of Lower Silesia and Greater Poland, full of charming places waiting for their explorers. That is why it is worth getting to know the Polish Cinderella as closely as possible.
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